Creativity in Community Sharing 2018
Funded by the Lambeth Community Fund
Inclusion Arts project Creativity in Community Sharing is a follow on from the Creativity in Wellbeing Projects. Funded through the Lambeth Community Fund through the London Community Foundation. Activities and events will be taking part in the Coldharbour Ward in Lambeth at the Loughborough Centre and will include the stake holders within in the vicinity of the
immediate area including the Loughborough Farm, Gordon Grove Adventure Playground and the Platform Space.
This will be used to deliver creative practical educational workshops with a theme centred around the issues of food waste and the value that community fridges can offer to a community. The creative workshops include watercolour painting, acrylic painting, glass painting and painting directly onto specially made customised fridge magnets.
The project would be educational and informative as well as creative with resource material and will include contributions from representatives from Community Fridge Networks providing information about setting up community fridges and the value they
can offer to a community.
The project aims to create opportunities for participants to develop their creative potential and develop a sense of pride. Develop a better awareness around the opportunities a Community Fridges can offer in sharing food surplus, with access to
nutritious food, that can save money and reduce waste.
Creative Health:The Arts for Health and Wellbeing
The project aims to continue in activities and that can promote Health and Wellbeing through Art.
The contribution that creative activities can contribute to the overall Health and Wellbeing has been acknowledge in the
The introductory statement by the Rt Hon. Lord Howarth of Newport, Co-Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing mentions "The time has come to recognise the powerful contribution the Arts can make to our Health and Wellbeing" and goes on to say "We offer a challenge to habitual thinking and ask for new collaborations to be formed across conventional boundaries."
Community Fridges
The project will aim to highlight the benefits that Community Fridges can bring to the Community through it Art activities.
Make people more aware how Community Fridges have helped people connect to their communities, access nutritious food, save money, and reduce waste. As well promoting inclusion and dignity, with anyone being able to give, as well as receive.
Also to raise awareness of the impact this can have on health and wellbeing and reducing social isolation.Make people more aware of the values that Community sharing can offer including strengthening bonds between local communities.
Why are they needed?
The average UK family wastes £470 a year by throwing away food and drink which could have been eaten, and £3 billion is wasted by food sectors. Despite growing awareness of food waste, there are few easy ways for people or businesses to get food near its 'sell by' date to others.
Community Fridges are communal places where surplus food is shared between people in a community, by local businesses and individuals.
Community Fridges are set up to be a longer-term feature of a community, are not means tested and are open to all. They bring people together to see good food be shared and eaten, instead of going to waste.
Community Fridges can pave the way to a more sustainable approach to food insecurity, as well as being a gateway to other community services and activities.
Making the fridge open to all promotes inclusivity and dignity, with anyone being able to give as well as receive.
Gordon Grove Adventure Playground
The recently opened Gordon Grove Adventure Playground will also offer the Inclusion Arts the opportunity to contribute in the Adventure Playground becoming a resource children and young people and upping its profile within the community becoming a permanent feature.
The Loughborough Junction Action Group (LJAG) stepped in two years ago after the council had shut the playground and were intending to build new flats on the site as part of the Loughborough Junction Masterplan.
LJAG negotiated a 3 year "meanwhile" lease and set about re-opening the Adventure Playground in a safe and compliant way to ensure that children from the local community could come together and enjoy this fantastic and magical place.
Inclusion Arts attended the staff meeting at Gordon Grove Adventure Playground, held on Tuesday 17 July at the Grove at 6.30pm, to discuss the itinerary and introduce myself to staff and management. It was decided to have the workshop every Friday starting 3 August 2018. Posters were put up for the Glass painting workshops on 27 July 2018.
Table was prepared glass paint, cut perplex and resource images. An example of glass painting artworks from previous Creativity in Wellbeing project was presented. There was a short demonstration on how to prepare perplex to best transfer the design. It was emphasized that the prepared perplex could not be wasted as it was specially prepared.The majority of the participants understood the approach very quickly and when the designs were completed they left the table allowing for another participant to participate.The medium was very popular and they all helped to tidy up at the end.
Some of the feedback from staff was to have some of the designs attached to the perplex windows which have become very worn, stained and scratched as a way in improving their physical appearance. Overall it was felt to have smaller perplex designs attached to the windows rather than one cut to the exact size as it would involve more risk if it is a collaborative effort. Having smaller designs would allow more scope in controlling an overall design.
Glass Painting Workshop
Glass Painting Designs
